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Feds: New Canaan Man, 30, Arrested in Connection with Fraud Scheme

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Federal authorities on Monday arrested a 30-year-old New Canaan man following a 20-count indictment charging five Connecticut residents with defrauding small business loan programs.

According to an indictment returned last week, the New Canaan man and four others—from Danbury and Hartford—submitted fraudulent business loan applications here and in Washington state, the U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut and special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Haven Division said in a joint press release. 

They “used stolen personal and business identities, or created false business identities, to apply to NDC for small business loans through the CT Boost and Flex programs,” the press release said. The agencies referred to: the National Development Council or “NDC,” now known as Grow America, a nonprofit lender that provided capital to small businesses, including through state-sponsored small business loan programs; the Connecticut Small Business Boost Fund, an economic initiative supported by the state Department of Economic and Community Development, connecting small businesses and nonprofits with support services, including access to flexible funding for capital expenditures; and the Small Business Flex Fund, an economic initiative supported by the Washington state Department of Commerce. “In connection with the loan applications, they created and submitted false business records, including fraudulent certificates of organization, false income statements, false balance sheets, and false tax returns,” the press release said. One of the other five arrested people, a 43-year-old Hartford woman, worked as a NDC contractor responsible for processing and underwriting small business loan applications. She “specifically requested to be the loan processor on certain loan applications submitted by her co-conspirators in order to further the scheme,” the press release said.

Around Town

Meet Donovan West, Our NCHS Senior Internship Program Intern [Q&A]

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New Canaan High School’s hugely popular Senior Internship Program—where members of the graduating class spend the last few weeks of their final academic year interning at local businesses and organizations—launches Tuesday. 

This year, 97% of NCHS seniors are participating, according to the program’s coordinator, Kelly DelMazio. That’s 362 seniors placed across 230 internship sites, including NewCanaanite.com. Our senior is Donovan West, whose sports articles have been appearing on the New Canaanite since his sophomore year, earning multiple awards from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists. Our readers will see West’s byline appear on a wide range of community news stories for the next three weeks. Here are the top-5 placement fields for SIP seniors, according to DelMazio:

Business Management & Administration
Education 
Marketing/Sales
Audio/Video Technology & Communication
Health Sciences  

“We are incredibly proud of our seniors and grateful to the many local businesses, organizations, and professionals who are opening their doors to mentor and support our students,” she said.

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Two Charged in Richmond Hill Domestic Incident

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Police arrested a New Canaan woman, 43, and Alna, Maine man, 45, following a domestic incident on Richmond Hill Road last week. At about 12:46 a.m. on May 12 (a Tuesday), officers were dispatched to a home on Richmond Hill Road on a report by the victim that an individual would not leave the house, police said. Following an investigation, authorities charged the man and woman with the misdemeanor offense, according to a police report. They both promised to appear the same day in state Superior Court. Police withheld details of the conflict, saying it’s a domestic matter. 

Under state law, people are guilty of disorderly conduct if they “with intent to cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk … [e]ngages in … threatening behavior; or … annoys or interferes with another person,” among other reasons.

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Letter to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letter. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com to have them published here. ***
It’s a familiar summer experience in New Canaan. You’re sitting out on your patio, maybe talking with friends or just having a cup of tea or glass of wine by yourself. It’s a beautiful day, and you’re enjoying the green view, bird songs, and fresh air.

Business

‘It’s Going To Hurt Merchants’: Parking Commission Pushes Back on Elimination of 15-Minute Spots on Elm Street

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Members of the appointed body that oversees New Canaan’s parking department this month pushed back on part of a larger plan that will see the one-way stretch of Elm Street converted to paid spots. Specifically, members of the Parking Commission during their May 7 meeting objected to plans to eliminate—rather than increase—the number of free 15-minute parking spaces on Elm Street while the town converts those free spots to paid. “If we are not interested in revenue, what is the argument against short-term parking?” Commissioner Katie O’Neill said during the regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “Because as I see it, we are adding a surcharge on coffee shops, on sandwich shops. All the sudden now if you are picking up a $15 sandwich it’s going to be $15.50 or whatever.